Female Dubai expat caught giving Dh2,000 bribe to pass driving test

Dubai - The examiner alerted his supervisor and was then instructed to make the woman believe he was okay with her offer.

A 35-year-old Dubai expat went on trial on Wednesday, November 13, at the Court of First Instance for offering a bribe to a driving examiner in return for making driving licence applicants pass the test.
According to the public prosecution charge sheet, the Iranian woman mediated the bribery between the applicants and the examiner. She handed the examiner directly Dh2,000 to get the applicants, whose names she was to tell him later, pass the test. She did that for Dh500. A case was registered on February 23 at Al Qusais police station.
The examiner told the public prosecution investigator that in October 2018, he received a message on WhatsApp from a number and he found out later it was the defendant's. "She claimed that I had given her my number which I denied but she insisted. She wanted to meet me at a café. We later met at a café in a mall where she offered me amounts of money ranging between Dh30,000 and Dh50,000 for helping in letting some individuals pass the driving test."
The examiner added that the defendant tried to talk him into taking her offer by saying that everything would be kept private. "I turned her offer down but she then asked me to reconsider it, claiming that she was dealing with other employees in the same way."
The examiner alerted his supervisor and was then instructed to make the woman believe he was okay with her offer so that they could identify the other employees. "However, the defendant would not reveal the names of the alleged employees and cut every contact with me," the examiner told the prosecutor.
In early February, he received some other messages from the defendant. "She asked me whether I thought about her offer. I told her I don't want any money illegally and that I am satisfied with my salary. I then took screen shots of my conversation with her and showed it to my supervisor," he recalled. He was advised to report the whole incident to the department concerned in the Roads and Transport Authority. On February 17, he was summoned to give a statement at the Criminal Investigation Department.
On February 21, he met her at a mall and she paid him Dh2,000 on behalf of driving licence applicants. The CID officers, who were watching from a distance, arrested her red-handed.
The trial will continue on December 8.
mary@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai